Melt
by UnderdogHero
Summary: Hiroto really shouldn't be trusted with looking after small children.


A/N: HAHA YOU FOOLS, I'VE TRICKED YOU ALL. THIS IS THE TRUE CHRISTMAS FIC.

No I didn't just think of it on the spot because I was dissatisfied with how the first one came out. How dare you assume such a thing.

Obviously if it's Zephyr I'm writing for, it's gotta be Ina11.

(Doesn't fit anywhere into canon.)

 **.**

Wide eyes stared as Hiroto towered over them, arms raised and fingers spread out like claws. His grin was downright terrifying.

"And when he passed the plate, he could feel his heart begin to swell, pressing against his rib cage and lungs, before the bones jabbed into the vital organs–"

His story was cut off by a mug being slammed against the top of his head, then pressed against his cheek in a grinding motion. His arms flailed as he attempted to push his assailant away, only succeeding in falling into the couch cushions.

"I told you to tell them a story, not a horrific rendition of _How The Grinch Stole Christmas_!" Tatsuya snapped, finally pulling the mug away and walking around the couch. Not a drop of cocoa was spilled, surprisingly.

Unsurprisingly, the children sitting on the floor in front of the striker were shaking, clinging to each other in fear. He placed the mugs on the table and reached out to pat one of them on the head, visibly calming her.

"T-Tatsuya, is that story really true?" She asked, glancing at Hiroto, who was rubbing his cheek. Tatsuya sighed, glaring at Hiroto.

"No, when the story says his heart "grew three sizes that day", they meant it in a symbolic sense. Like, he started caring for the Whos like family."

This slowly got a smile from the girl, which quickly spread to the rest of the children, who began clapping their hands.

"So he's just like us!"

"That's so much better than Hiroto's story!"

The grey-haired boy actually had the gall to look offended, and the children squealed with laughter as they stood and ran away. Hiroto fixed a half-hearted glare at the red-head.

"You ruined my story." He huffed.

"You ruined Christmas." Tatsuya replied, taking a sip of his cocoa.

"Did _not_. Don't you know Christmas is all about ghost stories?"

Tatsuya hummed and placed his mug on the table, looking past Hiroto and at the rest of the room's occupants.

"And why didn't you two stop him?" He said, directing this towards Suzuno and Nagumo. The two responded in turn.

"We tried."

"We failed."

Neither looked up from their screens, too distracted by whatever new game they were playing to give Tatsuya a proper explanation. He rolled his eyes, turning to Midorikawa next.

"He threatened me with pillow suffocation." Was the boy's response. He at least gave Tatsuya a short glace, before returning to his book. Tatsuya gave Hiroto a withering stare, to which the boy shrugged.

"You should know by now that I will do anything and everything in my power to screw with your day." He said, taking a long sip from his mug. It was obviously meant to avoid any further lecturing, but Tatsuya decided to let it slide _just this once_ , if only because it was Christmas. Then a thought popped into his mind.

"Should a _god_ really be telling such scary stories to minors? I'd think that would tarnish your holy image." Hiroto snorted.

"Christmas used to be a pagan holiday, it has no relation to my holiness." He said, and smirked when Tatsuya blinked in surprise. "Don't think I didn't expect you to pull something like that."

"Fair enough." The captain grumbled, turning back to the TV, which was playing the concert of some popular idol unit. He didn't remember what their name was, but he was pretty sure some of the girls were fans. Something about chess?

He snapped out of his thoughts when something bumped his elbow, and he looked down to see Hiroto's own.

"... Did you like it?" He asked quietly. Tatsuya doubted the other three could hear him anyway, over the volume of the TV and their own distractions, but he followed suit.

"Yeah, it was nice." He said, referring to the nice red scarf he'd found on his bedside table that morning. It wasn't wrapped, but there was a crudely-written note on top of it that said 'Merry Christmas Loser' with a little blue lightning bolt drawn next to it. "You're not celebrating at home?"

Hiroto didn't respond right away, staring blankly at the TV as it zoomed in on the stage.

"Dad won't be back until tomorrow and Sis isn't doing anything special, so I just gave her a present and came here." He said finally, lifting his mug again. Tatsuya stared at him for a moment before leaning back into the couch, the gears in his head turning.

"... Wanna play soccer?" He asked, getting a confused look from the other boy.

"What? In this weather?" He looked towards the glass doors leading to the yard, where it wasn't snowing hard, but there was a decent amount that would definitely hinder them. Tatsuya smirked and stood up.

"Now's as good a time as ever to tell you we've been invited to have a practice match against Hakuren. On their field."

This caught the attention of the others finally, who were giving him looks varying from excited to absolutely horrified. He clapped his hands.

"Now let's get to it! We're not going to get used to slippery fields staying inside all day!" He announced cheerfully, making his way towards the door. The remaining four players all exchanged a glance before following – some grudgingly – their captain. Hiroto jogged ahead of them to fall in place next to Tatsuya.

"You know, I'm still a little pissed you tried to melt off my tattoo with a hot mug." He said, to which Tatsuya smiled.

"It would have been an improvement."

 **.**

A/N: Insert snarky comment about this totally not being last second.

I will admit, I did borrow a little information from a certain fic Zephyr wrote me... last year, apparently.


End file.
